72 Formula 455HO/4 spd

[njsteve]

I believe that is because you could get a black Firebird in 71 but had to special order it in 72 and beyond...til the black and gold cars showed up in '76

[Lloyd-TX]

Oh, come on now Rick - don't be shy. Post up some pics of that AWESOME Revere Silver '72 HO Formula you're restoring!

[Norwood]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: njsteve</div><div class="ubbcode-body">That's funny about the rear spoiler addition. There is a militant camp over at the Performanceyears.com site in the 70-73 Firebird section that have just about started an insurrection against all the Formulas that have had spoilers added to them over the years.

I kinda like the clean fastback look without it. But to each his own.

We're still waiting on those photos!!!! [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif[/img] </div></div>


Steve the deal is Rear spoilers were not avalible on anything other than a Trans Am in 1970. So the issue is the addition of a rear spoiler to a 70 Formula, it just should not be there [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/wink.gif[/img]

[njsteve]

Didnt know that about the 70 model year. Im with you on the clean look, unless it was ordered with it orignally, of course.

[StealthBird]

I actually prefer the rear spoiler on the 70-81 Birds. Pontiac originally intended the rear spoiler to be a Trans Am feature only in 1970 (as in 1969), but the spoiler proved very popular, and they added it to the option list in 1971.

There's a great story about how Chevrolet tried to steal that 1970 Trans Am spoiler away for their 70 Z/28.

Vince Piggins (Chevrolet’s Product Promotion manager) not only loved the Trans Am rear spoiler, but after he saw the test results of how much downforce it created, he wanted the spoiler for the 1970 Z/28. He called the spoiler manufacturer, and asked about production timetables.

A Pontiac purchasing manager was furious when their spoiler supplier informed him that Chevrolet requested the Pontiac designed spoiler. He told the supplier that under no circumstances could any parts or tooling be used by any other GM division, unless approved by Pontiac, in writing. Pontiac had spent a great deal of money on the tooling, and considered the 1970 Trans Am spoiler to be theirs.

So back to Vince Piggins, who then went all the way up the ladder to Jim McDonald, General Manager of Pontiac. The Pontiac stylists stood their ground, and argued with Jim McDonald that their spoiler design was crucial to the overall look and functionality of the 70 Trans Am. But diplomacy prevailed, Chevrolet was top dog, and McDonald ok’d the use of the Trans Am spoiler for Chevrolet. But to appease his Pontiac stylists, he told Chevrolet they could use the spoiler, but they had to redesign the end caps to give the Z/28 a different look. But the new tooling took time, so the smaller “nub” spoiler continued in production until the ducktail style spoiler became available mid way into the 1970 model year.

[img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif[/img]

[njsteve]

Sibling rivalry at its best. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/grin.gif[/img]

[Norwood]

Here is a pic of Phil Boris' beautiful 70 COPO with the &quot;Trans Am&quot; spoiler from the factory.

[Brewster]

I have to admit Phil's car was killer but that Spoiler just didnt look right. It was out of place on the car dimension wise and made the rear look tacky.

No offense Phil!

[mockingbird812]

&quot;<span style="font-style: italic">I have to admit</span>...&quot; I don't think you <span style="text-decoration: underline">HAD</span> to!

[StealthBird]

I thought this was appropriate to this thread. This black 71 Formula 455HO just popped up on E-Bay. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/smile.gif[/img]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Pontiac-F...=item20bef38ff2